Restless
by existence555
Summary: Neither of them have been able to sleep for a while, so Ichigo decides to pay a late night visit to Inoue.


**A/N: Erm... This came to me when I couldn't fall asleep, hehe. Please, please, please review!! :)**

Delicate feet tiptoed towards the bed.

_Socked feet padded towards the bed._

Shaking hands grasped the covers.

_Fists clenched the sheets._

Fingers spread and the covers were thrown back abruptly.

_Fingers uncurled and the sheets fell back onto the bed._

:::

Orihime backed away from her bed slowly, scared to go any closer. Disappointed in herself, she shook away the tears that often poured after these incidents. Ever since she had returned from Hueco Mundo, she had been unable to sleep, consumed with the irrational fear that she'd slip into that darkness again.

Sighing, she flicked on the light and slumped against her bedroom door. It was going to be another long night.

:::

Ichigo turned over in his bed for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what was wrong, what had been wrong for the past few months.

It wasn't the sound of Rukia's snores coming from the closet. No, he was quite used to that. It wasn't Kon either, because he was fast asleep next to Rukia.

Ichigo turned over again and shut his eyes. It was going to be another long night.

:::

Her sleepiness had almost taken over and then a vivid image of Ichigo, hollow mask and all, popped into her mind. His clothes were ragged, his breathing irregular, his grip so tight that his knuckles were turning white. There was so much blood…

"Kurosaki-kun! Don't die!"

The cry was automatic and Orihime took a deep breath to regain her composure. She was calm within a few moments but the cracked confession escaped her lips anyway.

"I love you."

:::

Ichigo had slipped into a dream but awoke again when she seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Her eyes were glistening with the wetness of unshed tears, and though her lips were parted, no sounds could come from her mouth. There was so much blood…

"Hold on, Inoue. Just hold on!"

His eyes flew open and he sat up straight in bed. He took a few deep breaths and got up. Throwing on a shirt he opened the door and proceeded to walk out of the house. Ichigo wouldn't let this issue remained unresolved and tonight was as good as any to find a solution.

:::

Hard as she tried, she could not fall asleep.

Idly fingering a long strand of hair, Orihime wondered how long this would go on for. She supposed she'd have to talk to Kurosaki-kun eventually, but she didn't want to bother him with her troubles. Besides, that might involve a confession and…

A loud knock at the door jolted her out of her thoughts. Inoue wasn't sure who it would be at this time of the night but she wouldn't mind company.

:::

Ichigo realized that he didn't know what to say but he had already knocked. So he just shook the raindrops off of his hair and hoped Inoue would come soon. She didn't disappoint, opening the door after only a few moments. He noticed that she looked completely awake.

"Kurosaki-kun," Inoue greeted him. "Did you need something?"

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Oh," Inoue replied quietly. "Kurosaki-kun, at this time of night… What would people think?"

"I don't care about what people I don't care about think," Ichigo retorted. "Inoue, can I please just–"

He trailed off as she stepped aside to let him come in.

:::

Orihime hummed softly as she grabbed two glasses and filled them with water. She didn't know why Kurosaki-kun was here, but it was nice. Maybe she could even take this opportunity to tell him about what had been going on lately…

"Inoue, you coming?"

She walked out of the kitchen to go sit with him.

"Kurosaki-kun," she began. "Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here?"

Ichigo laughed and leaned back on the couch, but Orihime saw that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I'm not quite sure myself," he answered. "It's just that… How have you been?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but replied anyway.

"I've been good," Orihime lied. "I… How about you?"

:::

After half an hour of pleasant conversation, Ichigo sighed loudly. This was not going anywhere.

"Um, is there something wrong Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked tentatively.

He turned to look at her. When their eyes met, he turned away again.

"I haven't been able to sleep," Ichigo told her. "And I don't know, it just felt right to come see you. From your alertness when I came, I'd guess that you haven't been getting much shut eye either."

A slight nod from Inoue confirmed this but Ichigo wasn't sure what else to say.

"I try to sleep too," she said softly. "And well, I just see you and you're not… You're not like you are now. And there's blood and your mask and…"

"And you're about to cry, maybe even about to die," Ichigo added.

"And thinking of you like that just doesn't let me sleep," Inoue finished.

:::

Well, she had semi admitted her feelings. And maybe, just maybe, Ichigo returned them. They sat in silence for a few moments until Ichigo finally broke it.

"Uh, well, I should be getting home," he shrugged, getting up. "I'll see you later Inoue."

She unconsciously began to reach out.

"Kurosaki-kun," Orihime called after him.

He stopped but didn't turn around.

"Maybe you can spend the night here," she suggested. "Then both of us can be at ease."

Ichigo turned around and Orihime didn't miss the tiny smile on his face.

"That'd be great," he agreed.

:::

Delicate feet made their way to the bed.

_Heavier feet followed, steps back to their usual confidence._

Trembling hands pulled back the sheets.

_Firmer hands covered them and stopped the trembling._

Fingers entwined loosely but tightly enough that it looked like they'd never separate.

_Fingers filled spaces between fingers until morning._

:::


End file.
